The Tailed-Beast Keys
by Sharena
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit wizard, must work with her guild mates to find a way to break the curse on the Tailed-Beast keys. However, not everyone is on her side. Some people don't want the curse to be broken. They will do everything in their power to prevent it. They probably won't have to try very hard as Lucy's only lead to break the curse are just unproven theories.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto**

Prologue

Celestial Spirit keys; magic items that enables its user to call upon a spiritual being to aid them in battle. Each key is its very own gate for its very own spirit. In order to call upon them for battle, the wizard first needs to establish a contract with that spirit. There are many different types of keys that mages, or wizards as they are more commonly referred as, can use. It is said that the Gold Zodiac keys are the strongest out of all the keys out there. However, that is untrue. There is an even more powerful set of keys that exist, far surpassing that of the Zodiac's. They are the Tailed-Beast keys.

X~X

Lucy walked through the large port town of Hargeon. She carried at her hip a ring with several keys, signifying that she was a celestial spirit wizard. Not one of the more popular forms of magic, however pretty effective depending on the wizard. She liked to think of herself as one of the better celestial wizards out there, but that might just be wishful thinking. After all, she barely had any experience. The only thing she really had going for her were the keys themselves. She carried four silver keys; Crux "The Southern Cross", Horologium "The Pendulum Clock", Lyra "The Lyre", and the recently acquired Nikora "The Canis Minor". She also had three out of the twelve coveted Golden Zodiac keys; Aquarius "The Water Bearer", Taurus "The Golden Bull", and Cancer "The Great Crab". However, most impressively, she carried one of the strongest keys known to celestial wizards. One of the Tailed-Beast keys.

Not much is known about this particular set of keys. Only that there are nine in total and that the keys are cursed. Apparently, the spirit beast associated with the key cannot actually be summoned to Earthland. Anyone who tries to summon the beasts will be sucked into the key. When the person is sucked into the key, they become immortal and must serve as the new spirit of the key, the Jinchūriki, with the beast's guidance until they die. Then the curse will start all over.

No one really knows how the curse came to be or how to break it. Not many people care. As long as they have power, they don't care that some poor soul was sucked into the key and must now serve them. However, Lucy is different. She cares about all her spirits. It's one of the reasons why she has such good connections with them. It's also why it is now her mission to find a way to set the Jinchūriki free. All of them.

X~X

 **A/N: So I tried writing this story before, but I got really side tracked and just didn't have the time to finish it. Now I feel more organized and ready to start this story again. I'm really excited about this and I can't wait to really get into it. I have most of the storyline figured out and listed the rules so I can keep them straight while writing. Updates on this story will be very slow. VERY SLOW. I cannot guarantee a set update schedule, so I'm very sorry if that is an inconvenience to any of you. Anyway, hope you enjoy the story.**


	2. Fairy Tail

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto**

Chapter 1: Fairy Tail

In the land of Fiore exists wizard guilds. Places where wizards from all over can band together and accept jobs. It is said the strongest guild in Fiore is Fairy Tail, a guild that values comradery over anything else. They were like a big family. Not only that, but they had the strength to protect each other. Maybe it's the fact that they saw each other as family that they can fight with such strength. No matter the reason, no one can deny that they are the best guild Fiore has ever seen.

~X~

 _Hargeon Town…_

Cries for the famous fire wizard, Salamander, echoed through the town. A crowd of women swarmed the square surrounding a young blue haired man you would assume to be the so-called Salamander everyone was screaming about. The Salamander is known for his association to Fairy Tail and is notorious for the mass destruction of anything and everything on any and every job he takes according to Sorcerer Weekly. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a member of Fairy Tail, Lucy would never have considered approaching a person that brought about such destruction. She liked to steer clear of trouble; most of the time anyway.

Lucy pushed her way to the front of the crowd of girls to get closer to the Salamander. As soon as she saw him, she had a feeling of enchantment. Who cares if he destroys everything, he was the hottest guy she's ever seen! Like the rest of the girls surrounding the Salamander, she started squealing and vying for his attention. She pushed and shoved the other girls and they pushed and shoved her back. That is until a pink haired boy barreled through the crowd. Not wanting to be the next victim of assault, the girls stopped pushing each other and made way so the boy could get through. He stopped his stampede when he reached the middle of the circle where the Salamander was.

"You're not Igneel."

With those few words, Lucy became distracted and finally noticed one of the rings on the Salamander's fingers. To most people it would seem like just any other ring. However, being a wizard and having a good amount of knowledge on magic, Lucy knew it was a ring imbued with charm magic. Now that she was aware that it was being used, she no longer felt attracted to the Salamander anymore. How could she have not noticed before! No one can rally such a group of fan girls by just making an appearance! Right?

"All you lovely ladies are invited to my yacht for a party tonight! Hope to see you all there!" Salamander said as he snapped his fingers and carried himself away on a trail of purple fire.

Disgusted with the man using illegal charm magic to get girls, Lucy immediately decided she didn't need this guy to tell her how to get into Fairy Tail. In fact, if all the Fairy Tail members were like this, she wanted no part in their guild. Hopefully he was the only jerk in the guild. Walking away from the scene, Lucy spotted the pink haired boy that helped her break the spell. She ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, only just noticing the blue cat companion he had with him.

"Hey, thanks for helping me break that guy's spell. He was using illegal charm magic! Can you believe it?" She chuckled.

"Huh?" He asked confused. Understandable since it didn't really seem like he was a wizard or anything. It was probably just a stroke of good luck that he was able to distract her enough to break the spell.

"How 'bout I treat you to lunch? As thanks for helping me out!" He and his companion perked up at the mention of food.

"Sure!" The boy suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her through town and to a restaurant.

They sat at a booth and both boy and cat started stuffing their faces with food. Lucy found herself dumbstruck. She's never seen a person, or a cat for that matter, eat so much food so fast! With each plateful they emptied, the more concerned she grew for her wallet. She was only able to save 1,000 Jewel for Nikora at the wizard shop and only had 10,000 Jewel left! Deciding it was better for her not to be awkward and just stare, she started to make conversation.

"Thanks again for helping me out back there! If it wasn't for your interruption I wouldn't have noticed that jerk was using charm magic! My name is Lucy by the way! I'm a celestial spirit wizard! I haven't joined a guild yet, but there's this one guild, Fairy Tail that I want to join! Oh sorry, I must be confusing you with all this wizard talk. Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore! Anyway, what's your name and what are you doing here?"

"My name's Natsu and this is Happy." He said gesturing to the blue cat. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. We heard he was here, but that guy looked nothing like Igneel." The boy didn't even pause eating before he started talking. His words came out mumbled and Lucy could barely understand. She got the gist of it though.

"So you're looking for this Igneel guy? What does he look like? Maybe I can help!" Lucy offered, eager to help. Finally, they both stopped eating. Lucy cringed at the height of empty plates next to them compared to her meager two.

"Well, he looks like a dragon." Lucy was surprised. How does someone look like a dragon?

"So your friend looks like a dragon?" She asked, still skeptical.

"No, he doesn't "look" like a dragon; he "is" a dragon!" Happy said. At this Lucy's jaw dropped to the floor. First of all, a talking cat! Since when do cats talk! Second, Impossible! Dragons are extremely rare and hard to encounter! Even more so in a small town like this!

"If your friend really is a dragon, why would he be in the middle of a town like this?" Both Natsu and Happy shrugged. Idiots… "Anyway, thanks again for your help." Lucy said as she stood up and placed the 10,000 Jewel she had left on the table as she cried on the inside.

As she made to walk out of the restaurant, she felt a weird sensation and turned around to see Natsu and Happy on there knees bowing to her and causing a scene. Everyone was watching.

"Thank you for your kindness! You really didn't have to pay for our food! We weren't trying to save you or anything!" Lucy just waved them off awkwardly as she left, not wanting to be the center of attention anymore.

X~X

Lucy found herself reading the newest edition of Sorcerer Weekly on the park bench. She really wants to join Fairy Tail, but she hasn't a clue as to what she has to do to get in. She doesn't even know where it is! Once she finds it, will she have to pass some sort of test? What if they don't accept her? As she was pondering her next move aloud, Salamander came out from the bushes and sat next to her on the bench.

"Hey there! So you want to join Fairy Tail huh?" He asked, obviously having eavesdropped. Lucy did not like this guy. Just as she was about to get up and leave he said, "You know, I can speak to the master and get you into the guild." That made her sit down and listen. She may hate this guy, but if he could get her into Fairy Tail, she'll just have to put up with it. She was about to reply, but just then an almost transparent key on her belt started to glow and a voice entered her head.

" _I wouldn't trust him."_ The voice said. She whole-heartedly agreed. She didn't trust him either. However, if there was even the slightest chance that this guy could get her into Fairy Tail, she would take it.

"What's the catch?" She asked the Salamander. Glad to see that Lucy was considering his offer, the Salamander stood from the bench and started to walk away.

"All you have to do is attend the party on my yacht tonight." If that was all she had to do she'd do it. A small price to pay to get into the famous Fairy Tail guild.

X~X

"That Gray is going to get it when we get back to the guild! How dare he give us false information?!" Natsu fumed as he overlooked the bay. From where he stood he could see the imposter Salamander's ship. He didn't really care, the guy was a jerk. He had a really cool ship though. Not that Natsu would board it…

"Are you going to the Salamander's party tonight?"

"Of course! He's a member of the famous Fairy Tail!"

As the girls passed, Natsu froze at the mention of Fairy Tail. How could someone like him be a member of Fairy Tail!? Enraged by this new information, Natsu grabbed Happy and started heading in the direction of the ship.

"Where are we going Natsu?" Happy asked.

"We're going to that jerk's party! If he truly is a member of Fairy Tail, we need to put him in his place."

X~X

 _On Salamander's Yacht…_

Lucy looked around the yacht cautiously as she sat on a couch across from the Salamander. She was the only girl here. Was she too early? She didn't have much time to think about it as the Salamander started speaking.

"So what do you think? Isn't my yacht beautiful?"

"Yeah, it is. Where is everyone else? Did I come too early?" Lucy asked. She just couldn't rub this foreboding feeling off her skin.

"Yes, you're a little early. I told you to come at an earlier time than everyone else because I wanted some alone time with you. Here, while we wait for the other guests, why don't you have a drink?" He said as he snapped his fingers, making the contents of his drink into bubble form and offered it to Lucy. The foreboding feeling Lucy felt before only spiked at his actions. The same key from before glowed again.

" _Don't drink it Lucy. It's laced with sleep magic."_

So that's what it was! She opened her mouth as to show she was going to accept the bubble form of the drink, but before it could enter, she shut her mouth and swatted the bubbles away, bursting them.

"I know this drink is laced with sleep magic! What are you planning on doing?" Lucy questioned sternly. The Salamander only chuckled, not at all concerned that he was found out. With a snap of his fingers the curtains giving the room privacy opened and men carrying unconscious women were revealed. Lucy gasped at the sight. It was obvious now what this man was doing. He was collecting girls to sell as merchandise!

"If you had just cooperated, this would have been so much easier." Salamander said as Lucy pulled out the transparent key.

Before she could summon the spirit however, the key was snatched from her hands. The Salamander turned the key over and over in his hands before tossing it overboard. Lucy gave a shout of surprise before running to the edge of the window in which it was thrown out of and watched it plunge into the ocean.

"You're a celestial spirit wizard. Since those types of wizards need to have contracts with their spirits, you're keys are absolutely useless to me." As he made a move to capture her, the ceiling collapsed and Natsu appeared.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, Natsu bent over and looked as though he was about to puke. Trying to keep on his feet, Natsu called to Happy who was waiting over the now open ceiling.

"Happy, take Lucy to a safe place!"

"Aye sir!" Happy dove in and scooped Lucy up with his tail, taking them both away from the scene. Lucy looked up at Happy and was again surprised by this creature! First speech! Now he can fly!? Shaking her surprise from her thoughts she thought back to how Natsu looked.

"Happy! Is Natsu going to be alright by himself? He didn't look to good!" She called to him, honestly worried for the boy's well-being. After all, he saved her twice today!

"He'll be fine! Natsu's a dragon slayer! Besides, I can only carry one person at a time!" Happy replied, seemingly struggling already with her own weight. Before she could ponder on his words more, she suddenly had another feeling that something was about to happen. "Uh oh." Happy said as he stopped flying and just hovered.

"Uh oh what?!" Lucy asked hysterically. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"I'm out of magic…" As soon as the words came out of Happy's mouth, his wings poofed out of existence and they were both plummeting to the ocean. Taking advantage of the situation, as soon as Lucy hit the water she started swimming in the direction her key was thrown. Because the key was mostly transparent, it was very difficult to spot in the ocean. Meanwhile, Happy hit his head on a rock upon his dive into the water…

" _Over here Lucy!"_ With the voice that entered her head the key started to glow. Now being able to see it clearly, Lucy swam as fast as she could and retrieved the key. Quickly running out of air, she made her way to the surface. Putting the key back on the ring, she took out a key that would actually work in the ocean.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" As the words were spoken, Lucy put the key into the water and made a motion as if she were unlocking a door. A few moments later, a blue haired mermaid with a blue tail appeared. "Aquarius! Blast that ship to shore!" The order was given, but it was not carried out. Aquarius turned to Lucy and glared at her.

"How dare you summon me for such a task?!" With that, Aquarius took her urn and followed the order Lucy had given her. Kind of… With Aquarius' attack, the ocean waves picked up the boat and headed to shore. However, it took Lucy and Happy with it! As soon as the ship hit land, Aquarius closed her own gate and disappeared from Earthland.

"Stupid mermaid." Lucy muttered, wiping the debris off of herself. All of a sudden, she froze, feeling an immense power coming from the wreckage of the ship. She glanced up to see Natsu with a fiery aura surrounding him at the top of the wreckage. Seeing his impending danger, the Salamander made a move.

"Hell Prominence!" He shouted. A magic circle appeared and fire came raging out and headed straight for Natsu. It hit head on.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled. She looked over to Happy to see his reaction, but to her surprise, Happy was grinning!

"I told you Natsu's a dragon slayer remember?"

"Dragon slayer? What's that?"

"It's a type of magic that gives Natsu the power of a dragon! He has dragon lungs that allow him to breathe fire, dragon scales to help him to dissolve the fire, and dragon claws for attacking with fire." Happy replied gleefully.

Lucy glanced back at the scene and was amazed at what she was seeing. The fire that had been consuming the ship from the Salamander's first attack was quickly disappearing! If one looked closely, you could see all the fire was heading straight into Natsu's mouth! He was eating it! When all the fire disappeared, Natsu let out a great belch.

"That was some nasty tasting fire!" He called to the Salamander.

The Salamander and the rest of his subordinates stepped back in fear. One seemed to have a moment of recognition as he saw the white scarf flowing from the pink haired boy's neck.

"Hey Bora! I think…I think this kid is the real Salamander!" He cried.

"Thanks for the fire buddy! Now I've got a fire in my belly! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted as he put his hands together in front of his mouth, a magic circle appearing, and a mass of flames burst out, much more than what Bora had done.

" _So Natsu is the real Salamander?!"_ Lucy thought to herself. She was comforted by the fact that someone like that Bora who was posing as the Salamander wasn't really a member of Fairy Tail.

With his attack, Natsu wiped out Bora and his gang of slave traders in one blow, however, true to the stories written in Sorcerer Weekly, he also took part of the town with him! Lucy just stood there, her jaw to the ground.

" _He went way overboard!"_ She thought. In the distance, you could hear yelling and the sound of whistles blowing.

"Ah crap!" Natsu exclaimed. He grabbed Lucy and started to run in the opposite direction that the guards were coming from.

"Where are you taking me?" Lucy asked.

"You wanted to join Fairy Tail right? So let's go!" With that, Lucy smiled wide. She was finally going to join Fairy Tail!

X~X

 _Fairy Tail Guild Building…_

After running from the guards, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy boarded a train to Magnolia, the town that held Fairy Tail's guild hall. When Lucy saw the gigantic building, she was filled with excitement! This would be the first time she can meet so many wizards!

" _Maybe now that I'm here, they'll have some information on how I can free you! After all, they are the strongest guild in Fiore! They have to know something!"_ Lucy thought, communicating with her transparent key. Again it started to glow.

" _You are a very kind girl Lucy. I too hope you can find a way to free me."_

X~X

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This story will follow the Fairy Tail timeline (up to a point) with some changes here and there. This chapter is very closely aligned with episode 1 of Fairy Tail. Don't worry, it will change and you will get some original stuff once this story gets going.**

 **Can anyone guess which Tailed Beast Key Lucy has in her possession? (I know there's not much to go on…)**

 **Hints:**

 **Think of the color of the key**

 **The Jinchūriki is male (yeah, that narrows it down…) ;-)**


	3. Mt Hakobe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto**

Chapter 2: Mt. Hakobe

"We're back!" Natsu exclaimed as he kicked the door to the guild hall wide open, revealing an expansive hall filled with people chatting away. Lucy lit up. She's never seen so many wizards in one place before! She watched as Natsu ran into the guild and headed straight for a dark blue haired man sitting at the bar. As if sensing the incoming torpedo, the man turned around only to me with a punch to the face, knocking him out of his seat.

"What the hell's your problem Natsu?!" The man now on the floor asked.

"That's what you get for lying to me about the Salamander!" Natsu shouted. Gray stood up and stripped himself of his shirt. Lucy's eye bugged out of her head.

 _"_ _Pervert!"_ She thought.

"It's not my fault you thought it was real! I only told you what I heard!" Both Natsu and Gray proceeded to engage in a very heated fist fight. Seeing the fight break out between the two boys, a woman with medium length brown hair wearing a blue bikini top and Capri's took a pause from chugging whatever alcohol was inside the barrel she was holding.

"Gray! Your shirt!" She said, returning to her drink.

"Ah, again!?" Now realizing he was half naked, Gray gave Natsu an opening and was hit yet again in the face. His initial surprise didn't last long as he jumped back into the fight that was seemingly gaining more and more participants. Lucy had not been expecting this. She thought a guild would be more, I don't know, civil?

"Not a single person in this guild is sane!" She was seriously reconsidering her decision to try to join the guild. A white haired woman, noticing the new girl, tapped on her shoulder. Lucy turned around and saw _the_ Mirajane Strauss! Number 1 wizard model in Sorcerer Weekly! Mirajane smiled sweetly at her and gave a small wave.

"Don't worry; fights like this happen all the time here!" She said, almost a little to happily.

 _"_ _All the time?"_ Lucy thought. That's it! Everyone here is insane! And she thought that Bora guy was bad! She was taken out of her thoughts when the guild hall started to shake. She looked over to where the vibrations were coming from and saw the tallest, buffest man she's ever seen! With his appearance, all fighting in the hall stopped. It was as if everyone was frozen in time.

"You kids are going to be the death of me!" He yelled as he proceeded to stomp on Natsu with a large foot. He looked around at all of his children until his eyes fell upon an unfamiliar face. He gradually became smaller and smaller until he was much shorter than Lucy! "You must be a new recruit!" He said.

"Uh huh." Lucy mumbled, still in shock from everything that had been going on since she stepped foot into the guild.

"Lucy, let me introduce you to the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov!" Mirajane said, gesturing to the giant now midget. Maybe for the hundredth time that day, Lucy's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped to the floor.

 _"_ _This midget is the master of Fairy Tail?"_ She thought as Makarov jumped back up to second floor, almost tumbling over the railing before he went back to yelling at the guild.

"You guys got the Magic Council on my ass again! Don't any of you know what restraint is? I'm starting to think the only thing you lot are good for is getting me in trouble!" He yelled, waving what was surely a stack of complaints at them.

At his words, the members of Fairy Tail became downcast, saddened that they were bringing trouble to their old master and by some extension bringing shame to the guild. It didn't last long as Makarov suddenly set the papers on fire before throwing them to Natsu who happily ate them up.

"Well I say to hell with the Council! Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us, and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It shall take over your being and poor over your soul! If all we do is worry about rules, then our power will never progress. Don't let those blow-hards on the council scare you. Follow the path you believe in! 'Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail guild number one!"

At the end of his speech, everyone in the guild raised their arms making a backwards "L" with their right hand, cheering at the wise words of their master.

 _"_ _He may be small, but he seems like a good master."_ Lucy thought to herself. She couldn't wait to become an official member of this guild. Maybe she'd finally find a place where she can belong.

X~X

"Hey Natsu! Look, I'm now an official member of the guild!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly as she tried to show Natsu the new pink Fairy Tail guild mark now adorning her right hand. He barely acknowledged her as he was staring at a board in the middle of the hall. "Fine, I'll go talk to someone else then." She said dejectedly, sulking her way to the bar to speak with Mirajane.

"Hey Lucy! How do you like the guild?" Mirajane asked, wiping down the counter with a rag. Lucy took a seat on one of the stools and laid her head in her arms. "That bad huh?" Mirajane asked sadly. Noticing Mirajane's rapid change of mood, Lucy sat up and waved her arms in a 'No that's not it' manner.

"It's just Natsu is really the only person I know here and he barely acknowledged me when I tried to show him my new guild mark! What is it that he's staring at anyway?!" She asked. Mirajane glanced over to where Natsu was and let out a giggle.

"That's the request board. It's where we post our acceptable jobs! He's probably just looking for a high paying one! By the way, what kind of magic do you use Lucy?" Mirajane asked. Lucy smiled as she fingered the keys attached to her hip.

"I'm a celestial spirit wizard."

"That's cool! Are you from the Elemental Nations by chance?" Mirajane asked curiously, confusing Lucy. The Elemental Nations? Why would she think she came from there? Seeing the look of confusion on Lucy's face, Mirajane brushed off her earlier comment. "Sorry, I just thought since celestial spirit wizards are pretty rare here in Fiore, you might be from the Elemental Nations since most of their wizards can summon spirits." She explained.

Lucy didn't know much about the Elemental Nations. She knows that the Elemental Nations are split up into five major countries. The Land of Fire, The Land of Water, The Land of Lightning, The Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind. Each country had a major village full of wizards. All she knew about these villages was that they operated differently than they do here in Fiore. It's said their wizards face constant war and strife and are constantly killing each other off. Lucy couldn't even imagine what life in the Elemental Nations would be like, always having to look over your shoulder.

"No, I'm from here in Fiore." Mirajane nodded.

"Can I see what keys you have?"

"Sure Mirajane!" Lucy replied, happy to show off her amazing keys to someone who seemed like they had a good amount of knowledge on this type of magic.

"Please, everyone here just calls me Mira." She said, looking through Lucy's keys. She handled them with care and looked to be pretty impressed with Lucy's arsenal. That is until she got to a key that was almost transparent in color. The head of the key was pretty simple, only adorned with a clear round diamond. The teeth of the key however formed the Roman numeral for six (VI). "What's this key Lucy? I've never seen or heard of one like this before." Lucy looked at the key Mira was asking about and smiled.

"This is one of the Tailed Beast keys; The Key of the Six Tailed Slug: Saiken. There are only nine in existence and they are said to be the strongest spirits in the celestial world." She said with pride. "However, these set of keys are cursed."

"Cursed?" Lucy nodded sadly, thinking about her friend currently trapped inside the key she carried.

"When the keys were created, each of the tailed beasts occupied their respective keys. However, when each beast was first summoned, their summoner was sucked into the key along with beast. That person then becomes an immortal spirit that can only be killed in battle. They can't die by any natural causes. They basically become the spirit that celestial wizards can summon. The person trapped in this key is my friend Utakata. I'm trying to gain as much information as I can on the keys so I can find a way to set him and the others free." Lucy explained. "Do you know anything about them?" She asked hopefully. Mira shook her head as she placed the key carefully back into Lucy's hands.

"No, sorry. This is the first time I've heard of them. Maybe someone in the Elemental Nations knows something! After all, like I said, most of their wizards can summon spirits." Lucy thought about that. It actually wasn't too bad of an idea. If she remembered correctly, Utakata did mention he originally came from the Elemental Nations. Problem was, how was she going to get there? Never mind find someone who might know something that'd be willing to speak with her. It wasn't like the Elemental Nations were known for giving out information.

"But he said he'd be back in three days! And he's been gone a week!" The voice resounded through the hall. Lucy turned to where the voice had come from and saw a little boy on the verge of tears talking to the master.

"Your old man is a wizard Romeo! And like every wizard in this guild he can take care of himself!" The master told the young Romeo. With that, Romeo turned around and sprinted out of the guild.

"I hate you all!" The sound of wood breaking could be heard next. Lucy turned and saw Natsu walking out of the guild, leaving a cracked request board behind him.

"Why's Natsu so angry?" She asked Mira. Mira looked down sadly as she answered.

"I think it's because he sees himself in Romeo. Natsu lost his father when he was a child. Of course it wasn't his real father, but it was the one who raised him. In fact, he was a dragon!"

"So Igneel is that dragon." Lucy said, putting the events from the past few days together.

"That's right." Mira said, a little surprised that Lucy already knew who Igneel was. "Igneel taught Natsu all about language, culture, and magic. But one day, he just disappeared. Natsu lives for the day where he can see Igneel again." Lucy looked back to the entrance of the guild hall where Natsu left, understanding just a little more about him.

X~X

"You really do have a bad case of motion sickness don't you?" Lucy asked rhetorically as she watched Natsu look like he was about to throw up in the wagon.

"Why are you here again, Luney?" He asked, gagging at the end. Lucy's left eye twitched.

"My name is Lucy not Luney! Get it right! And I'm tagging along because I want to help you!" Natsu just heaved some more before the wagon came to a sudden halt. The pink haired youth shot straight up with a renewed vigor.

"We stopped moving!" He shouted it like it was the best thing in the world. Perhaps for him it was.

"I'm sorry, this is as far as I can take you." The driver of the wagon told them. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy opened the doors of the wagon and were greeted with an onslaught of snow.

"Where are we? It's the middle of summer! There shouldn't be snow like this anywhere!" Lucy exclaimed, shivering at the cold as they all got out of the wagon.

"We're on Mt. Hakobe. You should've worn warmer clothes." Natsu replied, looking at Lucy's short sleeved shirt and skirt. Lucy eyed him back.

"It's not like you're dressed for this kind of weather either!" She yelled. How could someone wearing those kinds of pants and a vest with no shirt not be shivering in this cold! All of a sudden, Lucy was struck with an idea. "Open Gate of the Clock Constellation: Horologium!" A grandfather clock with long black arms and a mustache on his face appeared. Lucy stepped inside the clock and instantly felt much warmer than she had been before. Natsu and Happy looked over at her and saw her mouth moving, but couldn't hear if she was speaking.

"We can't hear what you're saying." Natsu said. Lucy's lips moved again, but this time the clock translated for her.

"I just want to go back to the guild! She exclaims shivering."

"That's fine by me! I say back." Natsu said as he starts walking up the mountain, calling for Macao.

"What kind of job would bring Macao to a place like this anyway? She asks." Horologium said, waddling after Natsu. Without even turning around, Natsu answered,

"He came up here to get rid of Vulcans. They're giant monsters."

Natsu continued to call for Macao. The group trudged through the snow and endured the icy weather until a gorilla like creature fell from the sky.

"Me smell woman!" It said, eyeing Lucy within the clock. Lucy looked up from her little ball of warmth and screamed when she saw the monster running straight for her. Within the span of a few seconds, she felt herself being lifted and carried away.

The Vulcan kept running until he reached a cave. He set the clock with Lucy inside it down and started to dance happily around it. After a while, Lucy felt herself fall to the ground and the cold hit her full force.

"Sorry, but my time is up." Horologium said, already disappearing in a golden light. Realizing she just lost the only thing keeping her safe from this perverted monster, Lucy shouted,

"Give me an extension!" She received no response. Mustering up her strength, she stood up and prepared herself for battle. However, before she could bring out one of her keys, Natsu burst through the entrance of the cave. He made three steps before slipping on the ice and face planting the ground. Lucy shook her head in disapproval. "That was pathetic."

"Where's Macao?" Natsu asked, on his feet again. The Vulcan jumped up and down excitedly, pointing to a hole in the cave's wall. Natsu, being the gullible boy he is, went and peered out the hole to get a closer look. "I don't see Macao." He said before the Vulcan kicked him out of the hole and he barreled down the mountain. Once again alone with the Vulcan, Lucy took out her transparent key.

 _"_ _Lucy, you can't use me here. My bubbles will only freeze in this weather."_ Lucy put the key back and instead pulled out one of her golden keys.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" She called, summoning a cow wielding an axe.

"It's been a while since your nice body has summoooned me!" Lucy face palmed. Every. Freaking. Time.

"Just do your job and defeat that Vulcan!" She ordered. Taurus let out a great moo, running with his axe at the ready to fight for his sexy bodied master. Before he even swung his axe, Taurus was kicked in the face, falling unconscious.

"What? This doesn't look like the Vulcan from earlier." Natsu said, scratching his head in confusion.

"That was my spirit!" Lucy shouted. When would she catch a break?

All of a sudden, the sound of metal being dragged could be heard. Both Natsu and Lucy turned to the sound and found the Vulcan trying to lift Taurus' axe. When he succeeded, he ran straight for Natsu and swung it down. Slipping on yet another patch of ice, Natsu was barely able to block the attack, holding the blade between his two hands as it slowly inched towards his face. Knowing he was losing this battle of strength, Natsu powered fire magic into his hands and started melting down the axe, eating the drops. When he deemed he gained enough magic power, he smirked.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled, removing his right hand from the axe and punching the Vulcan in the gut, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. When the dust from the attack cleared, it was no longer a Vulcan, but a man wearing a 'S' shaped necklace. "Macao!" Natsu shouted, running over to his friend. Lucy closed Taurus' gate before joining the two.

"I took out nineteen of those things before I was taken over. Pretty pathetic huh." Macao said.

 _"_ _Nineteen?"_ Lucy thought in amazement. He thought taking out nineteen Vulcans was pathetic! What would he consider amazing?

"C'mon buddy! Nineteen's no number to laugh at! You did good!" Natsu reassured, patching up some of Macao's wounds and slapping him on the back.

X~X

"Romeo!" Natsu called to the little boy sitting on the steps. He waved when Romeo looked up and his face brightened at the sight of his father. He ran to meet them and apologized to his dad for making him take the job just because he wanted to prove to the other kids that his dad was a good wizard. Macao chuckled at his son's antics and stated that he needed to get a job soon anyway. Macao, happy to see his soon again, lifted him up on his shoulders as Romeo yelled his thanks.

"Thanks so much Natsu, Lucy, Happy! Thanks for bringing back my dad!"

Lucy smiled. Happy moments like these were few and far between. It was great to know that she helped bring light into a little kid's day. She'd only been at the guild a day and she was already loving it! She knows that her own journey to undue the curse will be long and hard, but for now, who says she can't swing back and relax a bit as she searches for answers. You know what they say, 'Once you stop looking for something, it'll come to you.'

X~X

 **A/N: That's it for chapter 2! So yes I said in the prologue chapter updates would be slow and yet I've done good so far. However, don't expect it will still be like this. School starts this Monday and I won't have as much time to write. I would like to mention that all of your reviews have made me laugh and smile and it's one of the big motivating points for me writing this story and one of the things I look forward to reading in the morning!**

 **Next chapter will be the Daybreak arc, and I will add in some more details about the keys/Elemental nations in that chapter. I have a plan! So please be patient and I hope you continue to read!**

 **Congratulations to the following reviewers who guessed the identity of the key correctly. (I'm actually surprised you got it with the clues that were given. They weren't very helpful clues…lol)**

(Guest) Matt

Bystanderwitnessing

(Guest) X

 **People who got it half right…(On the fence between Utakata and Yagura)**

BeautifulAstrology

AnimeIsLife0407


	4. Everlue Mansion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto**

Chapter 3: Everlue Mansion

"Today feels like it's going to be a great day!" Lucy yawned, stretching as she got out of bed in her new apartment. She sauntered to her moderately sized bathroom to relax in the embrace of glorious bubbles. Luckily she was able to get the apartment for cheap. Fairy Hills, the guild's own housing for guild members, was just way too pricey for her. At least her new apartment was reasonably close to the guild and had everything she needed anyway.

As much as she would have loved to relax in the bath all day, there were things that needed to be done. Like figuring out her next move in her journey to free Utakata and the others. Reluctantly dragging herself out of the bath and entering her bedroom she was shocked at what was waiting for her.

"Hey Lucy!" The pink-haired wizard called from his seat on her couch. Lucy could also see Happy lounging on her sofa as if neither of them did anything wrong. After her initial shock, she realized that the only thing she had covering herself was a towel and she felt herself bubble up with anger.

"Don't you know any manners?" she screamed, promptly kicking both Happy and Natsu into the wall.

Rubbing his head, Natsu replied, "That was a little harsh don't ya think?"

"Yeah Lucy, that hurt." Happy said, turning his attention to her wall. With a glint in the blue devils eyes he proceeded to claw at her wall as if it were a scratch board.

"Ahhh!" Screaming, Lucy picked Happy up only to notice Natsu snooping through her stuff. She just couldn't catch a break with these two! Keep your eyes on one and the other goes off being trouble. Snatching the papers from Natsu's hands she hugged them to her chest to conceal its contents before Natsu or Happy could get a chance to read any of it.

"What's on the papers Lucy?" Natsu asked, upset he didn't get a chance to read any of it.

"It's none of your business." She stated, placing the papers in a chest and locking it. Sighing Lucy turned to her intruders. "Since it doesn't seem like either of you will be leaving anytime soon, I'll make us some tea." She said, walking into the kitchen to boil some water. As she let it get to a boiling temperature, she snuck into her bedroom to change into decent clothes.

Coming out and hearing the whistle of the kettle, she went back into the kitchen and prepared the tea and brought it out to where her uninvited guests were sitting.

"So what kind of magic do you use Lucy?" Natsu asked, eyeing Lucy's keys. Lucy took them off her

belt and proudly showed them to Natsu.

"I'm a celestial spirit wizard." …Silence…

"Huh?" Lucy should have expected this outcome. No way was Natsu going to understand or appreciate her craft as Mirajane had.

"My magic allows me to call upon celestial beings from the celestial spirit world to aid me in battle." She saw as Natsu looked like he understood a little more now. "These are the silver keys, these can typically be bought in wizard shops and most aren't battle oriented, but they sure are helpful in certain situations!" She said happily, showing her collection of three silver keys. She pulled out three gold keys next. "These are the gold Zodiac keys; with only twelve in existence these are rare and are more suited for battle." Natsu gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. "And finally, this is a Tailed Beast Key, even rarer than the Zodiac keys with only nine in existence." She said, showing her key. Natsu squinted, barely making out the shape of the almost transparent key.

"That's cool I guess. Not as cool as my fire magic though!" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah! Caster type magic is much cooler than holder types!" Happy exclaimed.

"Shut up cat." She said, hitting Happy in the head. "Oh, I just remembered, I haven't made a contract with my newest spirit yet! Care to watch a celestial contract in the making?" Before giving either of them the chance to answer, Lucy pulled out one of her silver keys. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" She called, turning the key as if unlocking an invisible door. A magic circle appeared, bringing with it the appearance of a snowman like being.

"What's that? It looks so weird." Natsu said, receiving a glare from Lucy.

"I think he looks really cute!" She countered, smiling in adoration at her new spirit. "Besides, these guys don't take much magic energy to call on so they're very popular as pets." She explained as she sat down next to the spirit with a notebook in hand. Natsu sipped on his tea as he for once sat quietly to watch what Lucy was doing. "Are you available on Monday's?" She asked. The spirit shook his head no. "Tuesdays?" A nod. Natsu watched as Lucy went through all the days of the week.

"That looks easy." Natsu said.

"It might look easy, but the contract is a very important part between a celestial wizard and their spirit. It's one of the reasons celestial spirit wizards never break their promises!" Lucy stated proudly. The spirit nodded in agreement before making gestures to Natsu.

"You want me to what? Actually, that's a great idea little guy!" Natsu said to the spirit. Lucy looked at the duo in confusion. She brushed it off as she couldn't help but be enchanted by the spirits cuteness.

"Awww! You're so cute! I'm going to name you Plue!" Lucy said, picking the spirit up and hugging it to her chest lovingly.

"That's such a weird name…" said both Happy and Natsu.

"Anyway, the little guy said we should form a team together!" Natsu said. Lucy thought about the pros and the cons of teaming up with someone like Natsu. First off, Natsu was known as one of the more destructive wizards at Fairy Tail. However, his experience in the guild and going out on jobs could work in Lucy's favor.

"I think that's a great idea!" she agreed, completely missing the glint that appeared in Natsu's eyes. Natsu pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket and handed it to Lucy.

"Great! 'Cause I've already picked the perfect job!" Lucy looked over the request. 200,000 Jewel to steal a book. Seemed like a pretty good deal. As she read the fine print, she discovered that the person they were to steal the book from was a perverted old man who is recruiting blonde maids. Putting two and two together, Lucy bubbled in anger at being tricked. Before she could tell Natsu her thoughts, he said, in an almost sing-song voice, "Celestial wizards never break a promise Lucy!" Lucy snapped her mouth shut. That was true. She couldn't just say that and just go back on her word. Even if it was Natsu.

"Fine, but just this once."

~X~

"Your job is to infiltrate the Everlue Mansion and find a book called Daybreak by Kemu Zaleon." At the mention of one of her favorite authors, Lucy squealed.

"I've read every book of Zaleon's! I absolutely love his work. I've never heard of Daybreak though. I would love to read another one of his books!" As soon as the words finished escaping her mouth, Lucy could feel the mood darken. Their client, Kaby Melon, was an aging man, already showing gray hairs and face wrinkles.

"I ask that you not read it. I want that book destroyed." Kaby replied, gripping the hand of his wife for comfort. Why he would need it was a mystery to Lucy.

"But why? Kemu Zaleon's novels are works of art! Why would you want to destroy such a masterpiece?" Lucy exclaimed. She's never read the book her client was willing to pay 2,000,000 jewel to destroy, but if it was like every other book by Zaleon it had to be great!

"Daybreak is not one of Zaleon's normal works. It is a despicable piece of work that I cannot allow to exist." His answer surprised Lucy. How could any of Kemu Zaleon's books be despicable? Whether her client liked it or not, she was going to read this book. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

"We got this old man. This job will be a piece of cake with my magic!" Natsu assured the man, lighting his hand of fire to showcase his destructive magic.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. Kaby looked relieved at Natsu's enthusiasm to complete his request and left the rest in the Fairy Tail wizard's capable hands.

~X~

"Hello! I'd like to get a job as a maid!" Lucy said into the intercom at the gate of the Everlue mansion. She was dressed in the maid costume she had bought earlier that day. No matter how much she dislikes this job, she might as well play the part.

All of a sudden the ground started to shake and give way to a giant buff maid with her short pink hair in pigtails. In short, this maid was the epitome of ugly. Following the ugly maid out of the hole in the ground was a short man with a toupé. He took one look at Lucy in her "sexy" maid outfit and said,

"You're too ugly to work in my mansion." Lucy's jaw dropped to the ground. What did this man just say? The definition of ugly would be the atrocity of a maid standing behind him! Taking a glance a Natsu who was hiding in the woods, she noticed both him and Happy were trying their best to contain their laughter. This only made her angrier.

"What do you mean I'm ugly!" Lucy yelled at the man she assumed was Everlue. Everlue motions to the maid behind him.

"This is true beauty. Something you obviously lack." He said simply. He jumped back through the hole, the maid following after him. Lucy was fuming. No one's ever called her ugly before! She might not be as beautiful as some of the other girls at Fairy Tail, but she definitely wasn't as ugly as that maid! Stomping over to Natsu and Happy whom were still trying to contain themselves, Lucy punched both of them in the head.

"Ouch!" Natsu cried, holding his newly formed head lump. Happy didn't look to different.

"What's the plan now?" Lucy asked. How were they supposed to get into the mansion now that their initial plan failed? Natsu and Happy shared one of the most mischievous looks Lucy has ever seen in her whole life.

"We go in by force."

~X~

Lucy, Happy, and Natsu successfully infiltrated the mansion with no problems. They walked through the halls silently looking for a library or any clue as to where the book could be. Or as silently as one can with an eccentric teen pretending to be a ninja and a talking cat playing with a

mask. It just seemed a little to easy to Lucy. You'd basically have to be deaf to not notice the two nitwits talking away.

Suddenly, the floor they were walking on gave way to make a hole and four of the ugliest maids Lucy's ever seen came out. How anyone can find them more beautiful than her is baffling. Preparing for a fight, Lucy reached to her hip to grab her keys when all of a sudden she heard a scream. She looked up and balked at the scene. All four maids were cowering and screaming about the scary mask that covered Happy's face. With a little mischievous giggle from Happy, all four maids scrambled back down the hole they came from. I guess she wouldn't need her keys quite yet.

The group kept walking around until they came upon the mansions expansive library. Lucy ran into the room, eager to start looking for "Daybreak". Maybe while she was here, she could find something else that could help her on her quest. Noticing that Happy and Natsu were already searching, she picked a section herself and got to work.

Lucy noticed quickly that the books weren't in any particular order. They looked to be grouped by color, however they were not sorted alphabeticaly by title or author! This would just make finding the one book nearly impossible to find! Feeling a headache coming on, she felt the urge to just slam her head into the bookcase. Before she had the chance however, she heard Natsu.

"I found it!" He exclaimed. She looked up at the book he was holding. It was a yellow book and it was indeed titled "Daybreak" by Kemu Zaleon. How in the hell did he find it so quickly! Just as she was about to take a closer look, she noticed another book on the shelf that Natsu found "Daybreak".

"Wait! What are you doing?!" She screamed, realizing that Natsu was about to burn the book to ashes. "That book is by Kemu Zaleon! Please I have to read it first!" She cried, taking the book from Natsu and opening it up to the first page. Natsu and Happy shrugged at each other and turned away. Perfect. Lucy reached behind her and took the book she was interested in off the shelf.

 _"Utakata."_ She said telepathically to the spirit in the key. Knowing what Lucy wanted, a bubble formed itself around the book before popping out of existence, taking the book with it without anyone noticing.

Before anyone could do anything else, another hole was made in the floor, the big pink haired maid from before appearing along with Everlue.

"You will return that book to me!" Everlue demanded. Lucy ignored the man and started to read the book in her hands. As she continued reading the page, she noticed something. "Don't ignore me! Vanish Brothers! I want that book back!"

"Natsu! I think this book holds a secret! I need some time to figure it out!" She shouted to her

partner as two men came through the library doors. One carrying an oversized frying pan.

"You got it Lucy! I'm all fired up!"

Lucy knew she had to find a different place to unlock this book's secret, so she ran out the library, Happy following after her.

"That girl said that book holds a secret! That fool Zaleon. I need to know what he wrote! Come on Virgo!" Everlue said as he and his maid chased after Lucy, leaving Natsu and the Vanish brothers alone.

"It's a shame we have to kill you. You look so young." The brother with the frying pan stated.

"Yeah, so what! I'll kick your asses anyway!" Natsu exclaimed, lighting his fists on fire getting ready to fight.

"Like a fire wizard could defeat us. Right brother?" The tall brother said.

"Right. As we the Vanish Brothers are strongest against fire wizards."

"Oh yeah? Bring it on!" Natsu yelled, leaping for the first brother he could reach, incidentally being the one with the frying pan. He pulled back his flame engulfed fist and aimed it straight for the man's face. He quickly moved his frying pan to block the attack and the flames in Natsu's hands sizzeled out to nothing. Surprised at the dissappearance of his ever present flames, Natsu missed the counterattack aimed for him. The frying pan hit him straight in the stomach and sent him flying in the bookcase behind him, books flying everywhere.

He quickly recovers and is about to launch his own counterattack when he is unexpectedly attacked from the side. Seeing it just in time, Natsu dodged out of the way.

 _"Damn, forgot there were two of these guys."_ He thought as he launched an attack on the tall brother only to have to dodge an attack from frying pan man a second later. This game of cat and mouse continued on for a while, Natsu would attack and then dodge the incoming attacks from the other brother. However, not including the first surprise attack, they haven't hit him once.

"You know what a wizard's weakness is? They're bodies! Wizards rely to much on magic and don't ever train their bodies!" The brother with the frying pan said, launching a punch towards Natsu's face. Natsu dodged and retalliated with a punch of his own, hitting his mark.

"You say that, but you haven't hit me once!" Natsu laughed. The brothers glanced at each other and realized Natsu was right. Under such circumstances, they had no choice but to pull out their special attack. Balancing his brother on his frying pan, he launched his brother in the air.

"Heaven and Earth Annihilation Technique!" He said, charging towards Natsu. Natsu looked up to where the other brother was thrown. As he glanced back down he realized his mistake. "Look

towards heaven, and I strike from the earth!" The brother said as he slammed his frying pan into Natsu and sent him flying. Natsu righted himself in midair and landed on the ground, his focus now on the brother with the frying pan.

"Look towards earth, and I strike down from the heavens!" The other brother said, slamming his foot into Natsu's back. Natsu took the hit but it didn't seem to phase him at all. He got up out of the rubble and noticed that the brothers were finally near each other again. "We're surprised you survived that attack. Not many people make it out alive."

"I guess I'm one of the few. Sorry." Natsu said as he prepared his next and final attack. Surprised at just how much there attack had gone unaffected, the brothers just stood there stunned. Natsu brought his hands together an let out a glorious roar.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" The flames shot towards the brother and exploded on impact. Books were charred and the brothers lay on the ground burnt and unconscious. "Oops, did I overdo it again?" Natsu laughed.

~X~

 _With Lucy..._

Lucy found a good place to read without being in the way of the battle happening upstairs. She put on her windreader glasses that allowed her to read at the speed of, well, wind. She took in all the information page by page to make sure her hunch was correct. Finishing the book, she put the glasses away and exclaimed,

"I knew this book held a secret!" Just as the words finished coming out of her mouth, a hand burst through the wall behind her and grabbed her wrist in a tight hold.

"Oh? Please tell me."

 **A/N: Hey guys! So sorry for the long wait! Was really behind in homework and didn't really have the time to write. Please forgive me! I almost forgot about this story to be honest, but I got an email saying I had a review and then I just reread all my reviews and it made me really happy and my inspiration sparked up again! I love reading your guy's reviews and waking up to dozens of emails in the morning makes my day so thanks so much! Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I will still be working on this story! Hope you liked this chapter!**


	5. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**Hey guys! So sorry for the extremely slow updates! Just finished school finals and hopefully will be making progress in this story soon. I would like to announce that I'm not really satisfied with how these chapters are written. I was trying to stay as close to the original storyline as I could until what I wanted to do with the plot came up and then I'd start making significant changes. However I feel this has limited my writing abilities as I've been trying to be as accurate as possible. Because of this, I have decided I'll be rewriting the last chapter (chapter 3) and I won't be following to closely to the original arcs. I'll try and stick with the timelines, but the events that happen may be different or happen differently than the original. Thank you everyone for your patience and I hope the story will be much better with this change.**


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